This invention generally relates to printers. In particular, this invention relates to a guillotine cutter for a printer.
Many printers print onto continuous rolls of media. As the media extends through the printer, the media typically is pulled off of a roll, fed past a print head, and fed through an exit chute on the printer. As the media is continuous as it is pulled from the roll, it occasionally needs to be cut to separate the printed portion from the rest of the roll. To sever the media from the roll, a cutter may be placed near the exit chute and actuated to cut the media.
In one type of cutter, a guillotine cutter, the media is fed through an opening between two blades. When the guillotine cutter is actuated to cut the media, one of the blades is moved past the other blade in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the travel path of the media. The blade actuation severs any media in the opening between the blades.
The media cut by the cutter is often an adhesive-backed media that is placed on a liner. Adhesive-backed media is commonly used in the printing of labels, barcodes, and the like which are attached to an object after printing. Unfortunately, cutting adhesive-backed media is particularly irksome, as the adhesive of the media tends to builds up on the blades over time.
This adhesive build-up on the blades degrades the quality of the cut over the life of the blades. In cases of extreme build-up, the blades may not completely cut the media when actuated.
The adhesive build-up on the blades may also cause the cut media to stick to the cutting edge. In a guillotine-style cutter, this sticking may result in the media not properly feeding from the exit chute, as the portion of the media severed by the cutting edge may continue to travel with the cutting edge even after the media is cut. Correcting this problem may require user intervention to retrieve any media that has not exited the cutter.
Further, although straightforward in function, cutters typically include complex assemblies with numerous parts. These assemblies may include internal frames, external frames, mounting features, bushings, spacers, and additional fasteners to mount parts. Having a complicated assembly adds cost to the cutter, increases the production time of the cutter, and adds complexity to the cutter.
Hence, a need exists for an improved cutter that reduces adhesive build-up on the blades over the life of the cutter, improves the ejection of the cut media, and minimizes the complexity of the cutter assembly.